Real Menopause Talk

Charlotte Cave is an exceptional hairdresser. She treats everyone as though they were a good friend and her best client, as do the rest of her team. When you leave her chair, you feel as though you could take on the world and all that it may throw at you…glamorously. She owns two salons in South London, is a wife and a mother to two sons. In this Episode, Charlotte is contagiously candid about her experience of Peri to Post Menopause and shares her lowest ebbs with humour and grace. She also tells us that most of us are washing out hair wrong - erm, guilty! - and how to do it so that even with the hormonal changes we undergo as we get older, we can have beautiful tresses. Hair is deeply important to how many of us feel about ourselves and she gives great advice on how to care for it at home so it feels and looks great. If you fancy trying out her magic in person, you can find her at https://charlottecave.com

Christine and her husband Christophe own a magnificent tourist estate that can accommodate 42 people and receptions for up to 100 and an adjacent restaurant in the South of France. It’s the sort of place that if you stay there, you can’t help but feel great by the time you leave. Between them they have four grown-up sons, two cats and a selection of chickens. In this Episode, Christine shines a light on her experience of the French attitude towards Menopause including doctors, men and women. Her own knowledge of Perimenopause and onwards was limited to the cessation of periods and a vague notion of women sweating. Around the same time as moving to Mas des Oules, the menopause entered her life... unawares. Nobody talks about menopause around her, so when the first symptoms came on (problems sleeping, concentrating, excessive anxiety, slow digestion), she didn't make the connection. She didn't understand what was happening to her, associating it with depression when she was having one of the happiest times of her life... She is a true advocate for talking up when nobody else is and she is passionate about preparing young women so that they are not scared and are simply prepared. Her Instagram is a peek into Mas des Oules and a visual treat: @masdesoules

Gia is a renowned and highly regarded Make-Up Artist having worked with ‘A List’ actors, models and singers, worked on editorial for the likes of Vanity Fair and Vogue as well as high profile advertising campaigns. When she discovered a staggering 75% of women are put off exercise for fear of being judged on their appearance, she decided something had to be done. She created Skin In Motion, a cruelty-free, vegan skin care and make-up line designed specifically to stay put during exercise and for Menopause. “It just gives you that little boost of confidence.” Gia is offering 20% off all products (what a treat!) which are not only great in themselves, but come beautifully packaged and will make you smile. Simply go to https://skininmotion.com and use code REAL20 at the checkout. But hurry as the offer expires 11/02/22 :-) And go to Instagram for top tips: @skin.in.motion Skin In Motion is a Founding Partner of GenM who we interviewed in Season 1, Ep17

Outside of Instagram, Lotti is a mother of two, a wife and works in safeguarding in a secondary school. Inside Instagram, she documents her experiences of Perimenopause with great candour and humour. In this Episode, she shares the fear she felt when, out of the blue, her mind was filled with dark and intrusive thoughts; it was tough and upsetting because she couldn’t rationalise anything about these thoughts, why they were there or where they had come from. Lotti details how she combatted these and the many other Perimenopause symptoms. Check her out on Instagram: @moodswingsandotherthings She’s the hilarious friend you need at this time of life :-)

Julie works independently and alongside Sarah Davison who you may remember as our homeopath from Season 1’s Episode 15. Julie’s first symptoms of Perimenopause were night sweats but when she went to her GP, he told her that his wife also had those and he was going to send her for a chest x-ray. She tells us where she went from there. Julie shares her professional tips for how to manage Menopause well, why all the food groups are good for us and she has a surprising hack for restoring your energy. You can find Julie on Instagram: @NutriTherapi

Benvon is a skilled COO and mother of three. She tells us of her deeply intense years of Perimenopause when she was entirely unaware of what was happening to her. She felt as though she was genuinely losing her mind and became so ill that she even feared she was dying. When she finally sought help, the doctor discovered a complete lack of oestrogen in her body and she was then gradually able to come back to herself, her life and her family. She is an advocate for talking about Menopause and its wide range of symptoms and for supporting women of this life stage as we are a terrific talent pool and not to be ignored!

Karen Arthur is a Fashion Creative and podcast host of Menopause Whilst Black, she is also a mum, a grandmother and creator of Wear Your Happy ® In this first Episode of Season 2, she shares with us how she went from a busy, fulfilling and dynamic career as a teacher to closing herself off due to the onset of Menopause and addresses what it is to be Black and Menopausal. To get her through, she gave herself the greatest gift she could have done at this time: therapy. Karen decided she would “curate a life I love” which has lead her to all the things that fill her life currently and you can see all the vibrant beauty for yourself on her pages and sites. Take a look!

Lisa is a skilled Entrepreneur and mother. She leads a busy, fun life and believes we all have to have more fun! Her experience of Perimenopause has been a very uncomfortable series of urinary tract infections which lead her to through investigation of causes and treatments. She is a true advocate of taking care of your vaginal and gut flora as it can truly impact your quality of life. Vaginal dryness is nothing to be ashamed about, it is just a physical symptom that can be looked after. “One minute you’re fine, then all of a sudden it’s like a desert! We need to talk about this more because it is so important and all part of women’s health.”

Lily is a Registered Nutritionist and works predominantly in London. She has first hand experience of medicine is food, curing herself through nutrition from chronic psoriasis when she was a child. She supports her clients through the right foods, being an advocate for the Mediterranean diet as a broad protocol, and through supplementation. Lily talks us through the key foundations to good health especially through Peri to Post Menopause. You can find her at https://lilysoutternutrition.com  

Janice is a vibrant, successful, active working mother of two. Born in the UK, she lived in America growing up and is now back in the UK. She had intense joint pain to the point where it was difficult for her to walk far, her periods were so intense she would barely leave home for these few days and she experienced immense fatigue. All of this began to make sense when she discovered she had zero sex hormones in her blood stream. She tells us how she coped, where she is at now and how she sees her future.